MFA (Master of Fine Arts) - Course, Admission, Eligibility, Syllabus, Salary, Scope

What is an M.F.A.?

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) program is designed to help creatively inclined people refine their creative skills to produce more meaningful, interesting, and polished art forms. The course therefore, seeks to elevate the art form, which can be technologically intensive fields like graphic designing and film sound mixing, or non-tech forms like dance, drawing, and painting. Today M.F.A courses are available for both the visual and performing arts.

The M.F.A program includes professional, rigorous courses, and importantly offers a scientific understanding of the art discipline. So, by the time the student passes out of the course, he or she also develops a critical eye. Also, one key area that differentiates an MFA degree is that it offers a more practical learning experience, unlike MA programs which are more inclined towards critically studying the theory of art.

Master of Fine Arts Highlights

Types of M.F.A.

The MFA degree is a two-year program with specializations in various visual and performing art forms. The degree is almost always available in combination with a specialization, like MFA in Applied Arts, MFA in Painting, and MFA in Dancing. But a simple MFA degree, though not very common, is also offered in a few colleges like Kurukshetra University.

M.F.A. Eligibility

Before applying for admission to a college, one should know about the M.F.A eligibility criteria prescribed for the program. This will save the candidate from unnecessary heartbreak later on, if, say, admission is refused due to a mismatch in eligibility requirements.

1. Qualifying degree: The candidate needs to have a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts (BFA) from a recognized institute or college in the relevant specialization.

2. Marks in the qualifying examination: Colleges like the Amity School of Fine arts require a minimum of 50 per cent marks in BFA, while others like Jamia Millia Islamia demand at least 60% aggregate marks in graduation. So it is a good idea to refer to the college one is applying for admission to get a clear picture.

3. Age Limit: A majority of colleges don’t have any age limits, but few like AMU, require that the candidate be not more than 27 years of age as on July 1 in the admission year.

M.F.A. Admissions

Admission to M.F.A program is usually done through two channels - 1) through an entrance exam, or 2) based on marks of a qualifying exam. Institutes like AMU, BHU, and Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith conduct university-level entrance exams. Delhi University, College of Art, however, doesn’t conduct any entrance exam, rather shortlisting candidates based on qualifying exam marks.

Shortlisted candidates are invited for an interview/viva after which seat allotment is made. Even in the case of colleges that conduct entrance exams, they are specialization-specific. So, the test pattern and questions set may vary across specializations. Going by this definition, the syllabus and pattern of tests for MFA (Acting) will be different from MFA (Photography). A third option, albeit uncommon, is meanwhile used by Amity University, whose selection process is based on video responses by candidates to questions posed by the institute through a video link on its Admission Microsite.

MFA admission process

Top MFA Exams

There are no national-level or state-level MFA exams that are conducted for admission to the course. In fact, institutes like AMU conduct department level examinations for admission. Other institutes that conduct internal exams include Banasthali Vidyapeeth, which conducts an aptitude test for selecting candidates.

One particular aspect of these MFA exams is they are specialization specific. To give an example, for a course in MFA in Music, the test may include a music performance by the candidate, while for a program in MFA in Painting, the students won’t have to prove his or her vocal skills.

M.F.A. Courses

The two-year course in MFA will help the candidate hone their existing, but sometimes dormant, artistic skills. The course is generally open to candidates who have completed a graduate degree. Also, the objective of the MFA course is not only to educate but also to reform the skills of candidates so that they reach their potential.

The syllabus for MFA courses will vary depending on the area of specialization selected by the candidate. For example, the syllabus for MFA in Painting may include topics like Mural Painting, Portrait Drawing, and Creative Drawing. However, the syllabus for MFA (Applied Arts) won’t have all these topics and may include topics like graphic designing, visualization, and foreign business management.

M.F.A. Specializations

There are various types of M.F.A programmes covering almost every artistic discipline. These specialized M.F.A programmes are tailored to the needs of fiction writers, dramatists, choreographers, ballet dancers, painters, theatre and movie directors, and fashion designers.

Here are some of the popular M.F.A specialisations:

Top colleges to study M.F.A.

There are only a handful of colleges and universities that offer the MFA courses. While some of these colleges offer a single specialization, others may offer multiple specializations; refer to the table below.

Top colleges to study MFA: Specializations, fee, course duration

M.F.A. Syllabus

The syllabus of M.F.A would be specific to the area of specialization. For example, if the candidate is pursuing a course in MFA (Applied Arts), it has a different syllabus than say MFA (Painting) course. Further the M.F.A syllabus will vary depending on the college, as each college tends to have its characteristic features. Given below are sample syllabus

Source: Amity University

Advantages of M.F.A.

An M.F.A. is a postgraduate-level degree program that is based on the study of aesthetic arts. A Master of Fine Arts helps individuals to learn and apply the skills of visual and performing arts and acquire numerous career opportunities. Candidates enrolled in the master of fine arts program can opt for a career in advertising, clothing, dance studios, publishing houses, magazines, and various other fields.

M.F.A. Salary

Just like an MFA degree holder may pursue different job roles, the salary drawn by him or her would also be different based on the specialization and job role. The salary structure for some of the common job roles is given in the table below.

MFA salary

Source: PayScale

Scope of M.F.A.

The student after completion of the program may use the skill set to enhance their respective art forms and advance their careers. The MFA course will build the capacity within the candidate to solve problems at all levels using a systematic and critical approach. The candidate will also be able to better articulate their ideas after the course. Meanwhile, time management training will help meet tight deadlines without compromising on quality.

If the candidate wishes to go into research academics, that option is also open through a Ph.D. course.

Careers Opportunities after M.F.A

The student after earning the MFA degree may work in various capacities, be it in the role of a film director, photographer, graphic designer, etc. Some of the popular career opportunities after M.F.A are given below.